Police searching for body of Lewiston woman

Jose Leiva | Sun Journal | BDN

Jose Leiva | Sun Journal | BDN

Buddy Robinson, 30, of Lewiston makes his first appearance in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Friday. Robinson is charged with murder in the death of Christina Fesmire, 22, who disappeared July 1. Her body has not been recovered.

Fesmire did not die easily, Robinson reportedly confessed to his sister, Brandi Robinson of Lewiston, according to court records. He is being held without bail at Androscoggin County Jail pending an arraignment scheduled for Nov. 10.

Records also portray the women as part of an online prostitution ring, with Fesmire and other women working for Brandi Robinson.

Authorities have yet to recover Fesmire’s remains despite searches of the house Fesmire and the Robinsons shared at 36 Highland Ave.

“[Evidence gathered there] was analyzed at the crime laboratory and that led us to the conclusion that she was likely killed inside the home and her body has been transported elsewhere,” said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. “We have not located her body but will continue to look for it.”

Court records shed little light on why she was killed.

Buddy Robinson, formerly an accounting student at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, had moved in with his sister, her boyfriend, Levi Gervais, and their 8-year-old son at the start of the summer. All lived in the second-floor apartment. Buddy Robinson got a job at ACS, where the others worked.

When Fesmire moved into the first-floor apartment, she and Buddy Robinson argued often.

The affidavit cites several reported fights between the pair. It also cites accusations of drug use by Fesmire and her work as a prostitute, with men commonly seen coming and going from her apartment.

On July 1, Robinson argued again with Fesmire, according to the affidavit. This time, she didn’t survive. He told his sister that after Fesmire struck her head on the bathtub, he sat on her body to submerge it in the water.

Court papers cite an extraordinary amount of blood found in corners of the apartment. DNA analyses matched the blood to hair samples police obtained from Fesmire’s bathroom.

Robinson reportedly told his sister that he wrapped Fesmire’s body in a blanket, transported the bundle in Gervais’ Lexus and dumped her remains in a swampy area. He later destroyed the blanket in a campfire in Richmond.

The investigation led police to search several local homes and to interview many people who knew Fesmire, including at least one other suspected prostitute, a New Brunswick woman named Alanda Godbout. Her clients know her as “The Canadian Bombshell,” the records read.

Despite the interviews and physical evidence, authorities were only able to arrest Buddy Robinson after his sister contacted Lewiston police on Wednesday.

She told police that her brother had become increasingly angry despite recent psychiatric treatment at a local hospital.

Gervais, who also met with police Wednesday, said he was scared and helped cover up the murder out of fear that “he might be next to be killed if he did not cooperate,” according to the police affidavit.

In April, Robinson was convicted in Presque Isle District Court of stalking.

“He had a girlfriend,” Aroostook County Deputy District Attorney Carrie Linthicum said Friday. “He stalked her after she broke up with him. It went on for a while.”

Linthicum said the stalking happened over the Internet. She did not recall any threats of violence in the case. Robinson was sentenced to 60 days in jail with all but 48 hours suspended, according to court listings published in the Bangor Daily News. He was also given one year of probation and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service for the crime.

A murder conviction could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

On Friday, a Facebook page created to help find Fesmire had 879 followers. Some still hoped Fesmire was alive.

However, Assistant Attorney General William Stokes, who is prosecuting the case, said he is confident of her death. A victim’s advocate contacted Fesmire’s family early Friday with news of the arrest.

Stokes said he was saddened that police had not recovered Fesmire’s body.

“You’d always like to provide that closure to the family,” Stokes said. “We’re not able to do that at this point.”